80 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



&c, to give a taste to their dull flatness. 

 The seed, says this author, has a strange and 

 wonderful quality above the rest, for it will 

 not all come up in one year, but some in the 

 first, others in the second, and the rest in 

 the third year. 



The Roman physicians held the roots more 

 hurtful than the leaves. 



The beet was first cultivated in this 

 country in the year 1548, a period when 

 many valuable plants were introduced, to 

 gratify a luxurious monarch. Cicla, the white 

 variety, was brought to England from Portu- 

 gal, in 1570. It is observed, that the larger 

 the roots grow, the more tender they will be; 

 and the deeper their colour, the more they 

 are esteemed. The roots of the beet are 

 either baked or boiled, and eaten with salad; 

 they also make an agreeable pickle. They 

 are said, however, to be prejudicial to the 

 stomach, and to afford little nourishment. 

 The juice both of the roots and leaves is 

 said to be a powerful errhine, occasioning a 

 copious discharge of mucus, and thereby 

 greatly relieving the head-ache. 



From the roots of this plant, sugar has 

 been extracted; by boiling them when taken j 

 out of the earth, slicing them when cold, 



